Reading subtitles is a lot like riding a bicycle. Practice not only makes perfect, soon enough it's second nature so you don't even notice you're doing it. This particularly holds true when you're watching something great.

While it might cover some of the same ground as Donnersmark's The Lives of Others, the new Polish espionage thriller Little Rose is worthy in its own right.

The Tourist is more like steerage than coach, a tarted-up piece of product that's flat and witless. Hopefully, Henckel von Donnersmarck will go back to making his own films and put Hollywood in his rearview mirror.

This year's gimmicky Benjamin Button cost $150 million, the superlative Milk cost just $15 million. Why not fund ten more Milk-type films and forego one Button?